


Same As It Never Was

by Sithisis



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: Abuse, Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:49:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9921596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sithisis/pseuds/Sithisis
Summary: If this were another universe, the act of chasing after him to hell and back and trying to kill him along the way would be some kind of proposal. Long-winded and totally unnecessary, but a proposal nonetheless.Gul’dan muses how he and Khadgar are so different, yet the same.





	

**Author's Note:**

> me: write for the otp  
> me @ me: challenge yourself and write for an… unexpected pairing
> 
> I fully blame Tumblr for this.

If this were another universe, the act of chasing after him to hell and back _ and _ trying to kill him along the way would be some kind of proposal. Long-winded and totally unnecessary, but a proposal nonetheless.

Gul’dan mulls over the fact that, well, this  _ is _ another universe. He knows of thousands upon thousands, however has only ever been part of two of them. For now. 

He finds that in both cases, he was rejected by his clan for the sole reason of his physical attributes since the day he was born. Weak and deformed, the other orcs constantly mocked and abused him. Naturally, he disliked each and every single one of them. Yet they were his clan members, right? Should he not be thankful to at least  _ have _ a clan in the first place, as it provided a roof over his head?

Dislike turned to hate when the abuse went overboard. One day, his clan members got sick of his denial and got bored of simply mocking him. Gul’dan always prized his own will to not break, however on that day, the other orcs wanted nothing of it and wanted to destroy it once and for all.

His so-called ‘clan’ beat him repeatedly to rid themselves of him.

And yet, he survived.

Conflicting feelings were no more on that day; after the orcs left him for dead, he was found several hours later by the clan’s shaman. The shaman offered him a once in a lifetime opportunity - an opportunity that someone as feeble as he would otherwise not have in the clan - to visit the Throne of the Elements and pledge himself to them.

The offer came too late, but he decided to take it. He was bitter, he suffered endlessly and unnecessarily, and now, he was able to enact revenge on and bite off the hands that fed him.

Perhaps the elements knew what was in the depths of his heart and soul that day, for they, much like his clan members, rejected him. He was so close - the spirits of fire, earth, air, water, and the wild vanished at his fingertips just as he was about to reach them. 

Then, rain began to pour. Droplets hit and rolled down his face as he roared in anguish and frustration and hatred. They might as well have been tears. 

Something miraculous happened in the next few seconds. A single drop of green energy hit him, and voices began to whisper in his mind. 

The voices offered him a gift, and, in return, he would become the harbinger of their fury. They told him to focus inwardly on that anguish and frustration and hatred, and turn them into power.

Their lessons were all too easy for him.

At the present, he relishes in those memories of training which was so natural to him. He recalls how he went back his clan, earning another rejection, yet he did not return for acceptance. Equipped with power, he sought revenge, and revenge did he enact. 

In the end, the fel energy burned and killed all of his former clan members, and even the foolish shaman who had offered him hope too late. He took the shaman’s staff and claimed it as his own; both a victory in the tangible sense and the metaphorical. 

Gul’dan has never known of something like love for another being. He supposes that the craving for power comes close to it. However, really, the archmage who has been chasing after him for so long, yet not outright killing him? Gul’dan doubts that the chase is after a craving for power. He and Khadgar already both embody it well. 

When Gul’dan acknowledges this while facing the archmage once more, it catches Khadgar off guard, ending with the archmage bound by chains of fel energy.

Gul’dan regards the archmage, now on his knees and glaring up at him, and lets out a deep and slow laugh. He crouches down and caresses the archmage’s face before sliding the back of his fingers to his neck, and finally toying the leather collar with a thoughtful expression.

Khadgar jerks his head away, and Gul’dan’s amusement only furthers. 

It seems as if the archmage already belongs to someone… and wills, it no less. 

What excitement would it bring for Gul’dan to break down such an iron will. He wouldn’t do it physically, of course. If he himself was able to survive physical torment, then surely an archmage as powerful as Khadgar would be able to as well. 

Psychologically then. 

It would, after all, prove that although Khadgar may also embody great power, Khadgar may not have the mental power to go against him.

In a way, Gul’dan envies Khadgar. The archmage was turned older by the Sargeras-possessed Medivh, however he is still regarded as strong and heroic despite such a physical condition. 

Khadgar is still so trusted and loved and _ accepted _ by those around him.

In a way, Khadgar reminds him of his past tormentors. They were all strong and ‘heroic’ and trusted and loved and accepted by others. 

In some sick, twisted way, Gul’dan couldn’t help but gain satisfaction as the archmage now kneels before him, being directly exposed to his fel energy.

As the archmage’s breath hitches out of pleasure and out of pain, Gul’dan muses that Khadgar is so much like him, yet so different at the same time.


End file.
